Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to mandate individual risk assessments for all employees in his Department before they return to the workplace following the easing of covid-19 restrictions; and how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work in those circumstances have been conducted by the Department as of 21 February 2022.

Throughout the pandemic, the Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace, particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. This includes undertaking appropriate premises risk assessments and implementing mitigation measures.

In addition to workplace risk assessments, we encourage managers to complete individual risk assessments with staff who come into the workplace. Any data acquired through use of the CIRI is confidential and will only be used to ensure any risks are identified and actions taken to respond to any issues relating to a return to the workplace. We do not store this information centrally.